re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless?

quote:So you you think a (supposedly) barely used 2004 Honda crf150f for $1200 is a good place for us to start?

I would say thats a fair price for both parties involved. Hopefully you could talk him down to $1000. Just don't spend money on any mods (modifications)exhaust, suspension etc. because it won't be long before he'll want a 250f, just save that money to spend on a bigger bike. But like sub said earlier, if it doesn't start with in 4-5 kicks cold don't buy it. The top end is going out.

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/3/12 at 5:06 pm to Langston)

If he is 17 don't buy a cr 150f, i know it sounds confusing, but the 150 4 stroke is smaller than the 125 2 stroke. The 150 was designed to compete with 85cc 2 strokes, which are for kids in the 9- 14 year old range. He will be cramped on the 150, which is dangerous. He will likely want to race the beginner class once he gets comfortable, which is 125 2 strokes or 250 4 strokes, i would go this route. KTM also makes a 150 2 stroke which is a good bike. After one trip to the track with a 150 4 stroke, he'll be asking to trade it in for the right size bike

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 8:53 am to MTG325)

quote:If he is 17 don't buy a cr 150f, i know it sounds confusing, but the 150 4 stroke is smaller than the 125 2 stroke. The 150 was designed to compete with 85cc 2 strokes, which are for kids in the 9- 14 year old range. He will be cramped on the 150, which is dangerous. He will likely want to race the beginner class once he gets comfortable, which is 125 2 strokes or 250 4 strokes, i would go this route. KTM also makes a 150 2 stroke which is a good bike. After one trip to the track with a 150 4 stroke, he'll be asking to trade it in for the right size bike

You're confusing the CRF150F with the CRF150R. They're looking at a F, which is a 150cc air cooled, trail friendly, beginners bike. Not very high strung and fairly mild power and fairly low grade suspension. It would be a great bike for someone who's never ridden to start out on to get the feel for operating a clutch and be mild enough to where the power won't make you shite your pants.

The CRF150R that you're thinking about is the water cooled 150cc 4 stroke equivilant to the current 85cc 2 stroke MX bikes.

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 9:05 am to lesserof2weevils)

quote:Thanks for the Motosouth tip. I did, and it's helped a lot. I'm pretty sure we're going to go with a 250f. Now, where should he go to ride for the first time? East of BR, preferably.

Riding for the first time? You surely don't want to just drop a brand new rider on a 250f, bring him to a MX track and let him have at it. If it's open the Spillway just out of New Orleans would be a good spot. It's fairly flat and the terrain varies to give him a good feel for the bike. If he's never been on a bike there's certain things he needs to learn(on flat ground) before ever setting foot near a track. He'll need to learn how to work a clutch, where the "friction zone" is, how to properly shift and (importantly) WHEN to shift. Things like learning how his tires will react in corners, same with brakes. The first time he grabs too much front brake into a corner the front will wash out and he will indeed eat shite.

With that said 250F's can be a bit of a pain as far as maintence goes and this is something that should not be overlooked. I'm not saying don't get a 250f, I'm saying you should be aware of what you're getting into. A 250f would probably be alot better for him in the long run than a 150f. 250f's generally make alot of their power in the upper RPM range, problem with that is revving a 250f too high, too frequently can cause valve train issues. It's not that big of a deal as long as the bike is well maintained, but just know what you're looking for. You seem to come across alot of 250F's for sale with top end damage because owners lack the mechanical ability to make the proper repairs.

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 9:07 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt)

There are a few really good tracks close to you. Golden Pine Raceway in Prentiss, Ms. Is a top notch facility, Wildwood motocross in Kentwood, La is also really good. Getting farther away Breaux Bridge has a nice small track, most of these hold Loretta Lynn qualifiers, check those out. I have owned and operated two tracks here in north La. and sold all of my equipment to a guy in Ms. who was opening a new track. It was supposed to be called speed world I think, you may check that also. And make sure he cleans his air filter after each ride and a leatt brace is good to have.

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 10:46 am to lesserof2weevils)

Your best bet would be Full Throttle Motocross in Loranger, just north of Hammond. Thats a pretty tame track and there is a big field he can just put around in to get used to the bike. They also have a few trails he can ride on. Someone mentioned Golden Pines, thats the best track in the region but is rarely open. Wildwood hasn't opened in a while because the pond he was using to water the track dried up but supposedly he was working on getting that fixed. They have two tracks in southern Mississippi that are good also. Terrapin Run and Stone County. I would check those out also.

quote:Thanks for the Motosouth tip. I did, and it's helped a lot. I'm pretty sure we're going to go with a 250f. Now, where should he go to ride for the first time? East of BR, preferably.

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 3:48 pm to YOURADHERE)

Just closed the deal on the 150f! Going to let him get his feet wet on that, then pass it on to the 14 yr. old and let him move up. That way, we start out safe and have time to figure out what's next. Thanks a lot for all of the help. My friends laugh at me because I say that you can find out anything you need to know on TD, but it's almost true!

re: Dirt bike for tall teenage boy who's never ridden, but is fearless? (Posted on 10/4/12 at 4:10 pm to lesserof2weevils)

get him in the habit of maintenance thing the air filter very regularly. the new 4 stroke valve trains have to have a clean air filter or it will eat up the valves in it. as long as you keep the air filter clean and oiled you can a lot of hours out of the newer 4 strikes